Through intenational collaboration…
A COMPUTER centre has been established at Lethem, in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), with 15 computers and  modern amenities.
As a result, several residents are now being trained in the use and care of the equipment under the Basic Needs Trust Fund  (BNTF) Information Technology programme. The training is being done in a room of the Amerindian Hostel at Lethem, where 32 residents of Lethem and its environs,  most of them youths, started to train last week.
The project is a BNTF initiative, funded by the Government of Guyana, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Canadian  Government, with the aim of increasing computer literacy countrywide.
The present trainees are from the Private Sector and the Rupununi communities of Culvert City, St. Ignatius, Tabachinga and  Katoonerib.
They are being coursed in basic computer skills, management, repairs and maintenance of the equipment, by tutors provided  by BNTF.
The one month long sessions are conducted from 09:00 hrs to 12:00 hrs and 13:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs six days per week.
Similar BNTF Computer Literacy training programmes have already been implemented in other places across the country.
As a result, Hururu in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice) has 30 successful trainees; Herstelling, East Bank Demerara 90;  East Ruimveldt in Georgetown, 81; Enmore on East Coast Demerara, in Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) too, 30 and Goed  Fortuin, West Bank Demerara in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) 30.
A BNTF official said equipping people, particularly young people, with appropriate skills is critical to the future of  Guyana and the type of training is essential, given the role of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in transforming  the world.                                                      
Complementary
The programme at Lethem is complementary to the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF), another initiative of the Government, in  recognition of ICT as one of the principal catalytic forces that will influence modernisation locally.
The computer centre will be handed over to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Nine on completion of the  current training exercise and the beneficiary local authority is expected to make arrangements to ensure its  sustainablility for the benefit of other residents.
At the start of the programme, Regional Chairman, Mr. Clarendo Lucas welcomed the BNTF undertaking, acknowledging that it  is very important, given the global situation in the modern world.
“It is a significant development. We are happy about it and we will take the fullest opportunity of this resource to  improve the computer literacy of all our residents who are willing to learn,” he said.
Lucas said the RDC has been informed that the next location in the Region to be targeted for a Computer Centre is  Aishalton, in South Rupununi.